


the little things.

by siruru



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Feelings Realization, Friendship, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Reader-Insert, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 00:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14801142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siruru/pseuds/siruru
Summary: In which the small acts of kindness become a potential life long thing.





	the little things.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for @redgillan‘s birthday challenge. this isn’t the best, but it’s still kind of cute.
> 
> Prompt: Kindness

If you remember correctly, it starts with a cup of coffee, not that you really thought about it at the time, it just seemed common courtesy. You had woken up earlier than usual due to jet lag from a mission and were making coffee in one of the kitchenettes when a certain Avenger was coming back from their morning run. While, you didn’t work directly with them all the time, you had interacted with most of them during mission briefings and such. You were polite and professional, especially around Captain Rogers. 

“Good morning,” you smile and sit on one of the high chairs as he nods before he moves to go  into the central living quarters. It’s a split second thought that makes you yell out. 

“Captain Rogers! Would you like some coffee?” you see the man pause for a moment and your head goes into overdrive thinking up the worst possible scenario that Captain America will say no and never talk to you again --  _ why?  _ Because why wouldn’t he. You feel your face redden in embarrassment as said man turns around and gives you an equally polite smile. 

“If you don’t mind,” he answers and you swear your heart does a little flip, as you gesture at him to the coffee machine and that he should take as much as he  wants. 

“I always make too much,” you admit bashfully, as he nods before going to the cupboard to grab a cup. 

“Thank you,” he picks up his cup and nods at you with a slightly friendlier smile than before and you can’t help but return it, as the morning sun warms the room a little more than before.  

That one little act becomes a habit, as you find yourself setting up coffee for you and Steve --he instied you go to a first name basis after the 10th cup-- on most mornings when neither of you have a mission. Coffee turns into breakfast and talking about whatever comes to mind, sometimes joined with laughter whenever Bucky and Sam decide to join in. It’s calming and almost reminds you of home. One Saturday, it is more rushed than usual due to a last minute mission for the Avengers, Steve puts his plate away and is walking out of the room when a sudden urge, that side of you that worries to much, reaches out to him.

“Steve,” your voice quaking causes him to stop, as blue eyes look at you,”I know you don’t need it, but take care of yourself.” 

His face doesn’t show any surprise, but you sure your heart stutters and stops at his sudden smile and nod, “I will. Have a good day, okay?” 

You grin and nod as well.

* * *

 

Spoken worries and encouragements soon turn into written ones, as you exchange little messages here and there when you have the time.  _ How are you doing? Take care of yourself  _ turn into sharing photos of your plants or simply stating that something reminded you of the other. Steve asks for recommendations and your opinion on certain things and there is the occasional hilarious picture (Steve’s man boobs becomes an inside joke) or text message sent from when either Bucky or Sam take his phone. 

It’s a bright spring day in which the world isn’t in dire need of saving when you finally have a day off, though Steve is half a world away. You’re walking with no particular destination in mind after eating lunch when something catches your attention from an old antique shop near the end of the street. A glinting metal box on the store window makes you pause because of reminds you of a certain someone and without a second thought you go inside to buy it.     

It takes him a few more days, but eventually Steve finds a tin box sitting on the desk of his office. While he is extremely cautious of what it could be, the familiar handwriting of  _ reminded me of you _ , puts his mind at ease for the moment though he wonders what it could be since the box seemed to originally used to those metal ball and jacks that were so popular back during his time. 

“Hey Stevie,” Bucky comes into his office a moment later to see his oldest friend’s desk cluttered with vintage drawings of New York, some specifically of old places that used to be in Brooklyn. Some pages are blank but the smell of charcoal brings the men back to the art school they used to go to. The moment should be somber, but all Bucky can see is adoration and something else shining brightly in his friend’s blue eyes as Steve can’t get rid of that large smile on his face. 

“Oh, you gotta it bad,” the brown-haired man whistles out, as Steve just shakes his head though denying anything would be futile at this point. 

You’re questioning your heart too when you see a bouquet of sunflowers and yellow tulips with a small music box near your room with a reminiscent  _ reminded me of you  _ written on the small white card.

* * *

 

It’s a little strange when Steve asks if he could accompany you during some of your weekend trips into the city, but you think nothing of it after awhile. You ask him if he had anywhere in mind that he wants to go and when he says no, you try your hardest to take him places that he might enjoy -- the antique shop, a diner you go to from time to time, the art supplies store you pass by, that awesome bakery close to the subway station. Then, it starts. 

“Do you want to try one?” you ask while looking into through all the selection of cupcakes behind the glass. You turn around to see Steve shaking his head,“It’s their best.” 

“I’m okay,”he nods, as he leans into the the back a bit more, hoping nobody will notice. 

“No, no, none of that. Come on, my treat,” you frown and pull him back, as much as you physically can, to the selection and smiling store owner. 

You end up buying him a box of butterscotch cupcakes and on the way back he ends buy you a latte and thus you end up in a little bartering system with one Steve Rogers. On some days out, he would buy the lunch, sometimes you would buy sweets to eat or bread to share with the birds in Central Park.  It slowly starts to extend out of those closed weekends and into the compound, a book borrowed here, an old record shared there, or watching a movie to catch up Steve on his pop history. You do everything with a smile and a steady heartbeat, and maybe that’s why he falls so hard in the end.  __

* * *

 

Steve is a little nervous when he ask you if you mind changing the daily weekend event into a nightly one, but you simply laugh and agree to it. It’s nothing big, just a simply outing to a diner he used to love in Brooklyn back in the day. After all the kindness and friendship, you had shown him, Steve wasn’t exactly sure if he’s ready to potentially change the dynamic of something that has become so comfortable for him. However, that changes when he sees you in a nice blouse and pairs of jeans, but like always you beat him to the punch. 

“So, is this a date or just one big payback?” you question as you take a seat across from him. Steve shakes his head and tries to fight the heat that he knows is reaching his face right about now. 

“Well, both. It could be both,” he chuckles nervously, your smile grows a little more as the waitress come to see if you’re ready to order anything. 

“You’re gonna have to let me pick the next one then,” you wink, causing him to smile and let go some of the tension he had been feeling up to this point, even now your little acts of kindness were helping him along the way and he hoped it stayed like that. 

**Author's Note:**

> catch me on the flip side: [writing tumblr](http://the-canary.tumblr.com/)


End file.
